Deepak Nagrath

Deepak Nagrath is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, affiliated with the Biointerfaces Institute. His lab focuses on systems biology approaches to understand cancer metabolism and tumor microenvironment interactions. Key research areas include metabolic flux analysis, collateral lethal target identification (CLIM platform), and developing precision therapies using circulating tumor cell organoids. The lab integrates machine learning with genomic data to model metabolic dependencies in cancers like pancreatic, lung, and brain tumors.

Education details are not explicitly stated in the provided text, but Dr. Nagrath's work emphasizes interdisciplinary training at the intersection of engineering, biology, and computational science. His lab's research highlights include:

• Metabolic systems biology of human diseases
• Extracellular vesicle-mediated metabolic crosstalk
• Microfluidic platforms for tumor organoid generation
• Machine learning-driven metabolic flux analysis

Research interests center on dissecting how tumor microenvironments modulate cancer cell metabolism, with a focus on developing therapies targeting metabolic vulnerabilities. Recent advancements include metabolic modeling of brain cancers and digital twin technology for personalized therapy.

Notable projects include the CLIM platform for identifying collaterally lethal genes in ovarian cancer and the development of the ExoSponge device for exosome isolation. The lab collaborates with clinical teams to translate findings into therapies for metastatic cancers and liver diseases.

Grant activities involve NSF funding (e.g., Ajay Shankaran's Graduate Research Fellowship) and partnerships with industry for device commercialization. The lab is part of the Biointerfaces Institute, fostering collaborations in biomaterials and regenerative medicine.